U.S. job openings lowest in nearly two years in February

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. job openings in February dropped to the lowest level in nearly two years, suggesting that the labor market was cooling.

Job openings, a measure of labor demand, decreased 632,000 to 9.9 million on the last day of February, the lowest level since May 2021, the Labor Department said in its monthly Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, or JOLTS report, on Tuesday.

Data for January was revised lower to show 10.6 million job openings instead of the previously reported 10.8 million. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 10.4 million job openings.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani)